NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I wanted to give a shout-out to Alkaholik for the very thoughtful and complementary review that was left for me. It was greatly appreciated. I try hard to make any OC's of mine believable, because good OC's are harder to develop than you think. BTW, Stevie Richards in this story is the Stevie from the Right To Censor days.

Okay, on with the show!

Chapter Five

Downstairs, Stevie conducted business with some of his associates. One of them had a list of customers. "Now Dallas gets the Ferraris, there's one Lamborghini to Phoenix, and Cleveland needs four Porches."

"Forget that," Stevie snapped.

The other associate looked puzzled. "But they got an order!" he protested.

"I said forget it! I don't like the way they been running things. Cleveland is dead."

Back in the office the kids climbed carefully onto the roof of the office (it was separate from the warehouse, on the second floor), using a file cabinet they'd set on top of the desk. Each of them glanced around for a way to escape. There was a network of steel support girders, as far as their eyes could see.

"Ah-ha!" Anna whispered, spotting an open window across from a steel beam that looked wide enough to walk across. "Guys! We can go out that window."

Phil had an odd look on his face. "You gotta be shittin' me."

"Watch your mouth!"

"Watch my mouth? You gotta be shittin' me," he exclaimed quietly, before Chase shhh-ed him. "But what if I fall?"

Tempest smiled at him. "I won't let you fall."

Phil smiled back in return. "Thanks Temper."

"Just be careful," warned Anna as she set out across the steel beam, spreading her arms out to the side for balance. As quietly as they possibly could, they worked their way across. First it was Anna, then Chase, then Tempest, then Phil.

"Chase," Anna whispered, as they trekked forward slowly. "I don't think your folks will ever ask me to babysit again."

"If they do," he said. "I'd ask them for a dollar more an hour."

~~~BABY~~~

Downstairs R-Truth was listening in on the conversation between Stevie and his associates. He glanced up in time to see the kids creep across the catwalk, but he said nothing. A small speck of rust (dislodged from the beam by Anna's foot) fell into one of the cups of coffee on the table below. Nobody (but R-Truth) noticed it, and one of the associates took the cup and took a big sip out of it.

R-Truth chuckled silently. Hurry out of here, Kids! he thought. Get yourselves home safe.

~~~BABY~~~

"Well?" Matt asked as Chris snapped his cell phone shut. The two of them were at their office party, and it was in full swing, but Chris was a bit edgy as he tried to reach the kids at home. "Is it multiple murder or has Tempest just cut off a finger?"

"I got the answering machine."

Matt ushered Chris back to the table. "Well, they probably went to Menchie's for some frozen yogurt. They're okay. Anna can handle it."

Chris picked up his mixed drink and chuckled. "Sure. Temper's probably hanging from the rafters right about now."

~~~BABY~~~

"Don't look down," Tempest warned Phil, Anna and Chase. Back in the warehouse, Tempest and the others were indeed in the rafters, still trying to cross the beam to get to the open window.

Phil crept forward, causing the Playboy to come loose from under his hoodie. He managed to catch it before it fell, but Chase grabbed the magazine from him.

"Phil! You idiot. Shhh…" he chastised, as the kids made it to the window and began to climb out slowly…

~~~BABY~~~

"Tommy," Stevie demanded. "Where's the magazine?"

"The Playboy?" Dreamer blinked, stupidly. "I…uh…I took the Playboy upstairs…there was this…article…"

Stevie huffed and rolled his eyes. "Get it."

~~~BABY~~~

R-Truth let out a small sigh of relief. Anna had just climbed out the window to join the other kids, just as Dreamer stomped up the stairs to the office. "Better hurry, kids," he said under his breath.

~~~BABY~~~

The first thing Dreamer noticed when he entered the office was the file cabinet on top of the desk. "Dammit!" he snarled, hunting for the pilfered Playboy. No luck. Glancing up, he saw the hole in the ceiling and put two and two together.

"Oh, crap," Dreamer whined, backing out of the office. "Stevie's gonna kick my ass!"

~~~BABY~~~

"Let's go! Come on! Hurry up!" Anna barked, as she ushered her charges across the roof to a ladder on the side of the warehouse. Tempest was the first one on the ladder. "Temper, hold on!"

~~~BABY~~~

"Where is it?" Stevie barked, as Dreamer slunk back downstairs.

"We…we got a problem. It's, uhm…it's not up there," Dreamer stammered. "I think the kids have got it."

"Well, get it back from them."

"That's the problem. They're not up there, either. They…they got away."

~~~BABY~~~

Chase held the Playboy out to his best friend. "Where'd you get this?" Chase demanded, holding the Playboy out to his best friend. The kids were now in an alley by the warehouse, hiding behind a dumpster after climbing down the ladder

"I boosted it from the office—"

"WHAT?"

"That Playboy you tossed out of the car was my dad's, Jerky! I can't buy a replacement!"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have brought it in the first place! You're going to get us into so much trouble—"

Tempest snapped, "Guys! Come on! Stop arguing!"

Phil let out an exasperated sigh, as he glanced down at the perfect place to put the magazine. Tempest had her Thor backpack on, and the zipper was open. "Sorry, Temper," he said under his breath as he put the Playboy in the backpack without her noticing.

"Hey! You kids! Get back here!"

The disagreement was interrupted as Dreamer, Stevie, and R-Truth emerged from the warehouse.

Dreamer glared at the kids. "Hey!"

Anna gasped. "Run!" Anna's charges didn't need to be told twice. All of them took off like a shot down the alley.

Stevie watched them with a stony expression, and then he turned his attention to R-Truth. "Get the car."

R-Truth was slightly outraged. "Oh come on…they're kids! Wrong place at the wrong time, you get it? What are you gonna do, run 'em down and kill 'em?"

Stevie snarled and grabbed R-Truth by the front of his jacket. "Get the car!"

R-Truth decided not to incite his boss any further and nodded before heading to his boss's car, a maroon colored Town Car. He started it up, rolled it out of the warehouse, and pulled up in front of Dreamer and Stevie.

"We gotta get that magazine back," Stevie explained as he and Dreamer climbed in. "It's got all my notes for the Philadelphia order."

Dreamer chimed in with, "That could put us away for 20 years," as R-Truth drove off. He steered the Town Car and spotted the kids.

"Faster!" Stevie shouted, and R-Truth had no choice but obey his boss. Anna, Phil, and the Irvine-Hardy's ran down the alley, with the Town Car in hot pursuit.

~~~BABY~~~

"Oh, no!" Anna exclaimed. The kids had fled down another alley, only to find a locked chain link fence at the other end. Dreamer was shouting at them to come back.

"Anna!" Tempest squeaked. "What are we gonna do?"

Anna glanced around. To his left was a building with a flashing neon sign over the door that read The Silver Dollar Club. The sign underneath (which wasn't neon) read, featuring in-house musician, Albert Collins, on lead guitar. "We can hide here! Come on! Get inside! We can lose them…"

~~~BABY~~~

The Silver Dollar Club was a blues club, with a live band playing some really great blues music. The entire band was composed of people of color, and as a matter of fact, the whole audience was composed of people of color.

Backstage the kids tried frantically to find a way out of the building. Anna opened a door and suddenly, she and the rest of the kids, found themselves on stage, just as the band was finishing their song, and the lead guitarist, finished a hot blues riff. The crowd applauded, but then an uncomfortable hush fell over the crowd as they noticed Anna and the kids.

Anna took a breath to steady her nerves. "Sir," she started, speaking to the lead guitarist, "We didn't mean to interrupt your little concert here, if you don't mind we'd just like to let ourselves off the stage…"

Albert Collins shook his head. "Nobody gets outta this place without singing the blues."

Anna looked at Albert like he'd just sprouted horns. "What?"

"Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues," Albert said back, before conferring with his band mates.

Anna stammered, "Uhh…You want me to sing?" She glanced at Phil. "They want me to sing."

Phil shrugged. "Well do whatever they want, just get us outta here."

"But…I can't sing."

~~~BABY~~~

Meanwhile, Stevie and Dreamer entered the building. Rather than go out on stage, they both decided to go around and catch them from another direction.

~~~BABY~~~

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: I hope I don't confuse you guys with who's singing what, and I hope I do this scene from the movie justice. I'll do my best to keep everything in order—sort of.

The crowd waited with bated breath as Anna went to a microphone and adjusted it. Here goes nothing, she thought. Leaning into the mic, she said, "Uhmmm…Hi. My names Anna Hollenbeck."

Albert and his band started a blues rift, and Anna jumped in surprise.

Anna continued. "I live in Oak Park. That's a suburb—"

Chase interrupted with, "They probably figured that out," earning him an eye roll from Phil and a dirty look from Anna.

Anna glanced over at Chris Irvine-Hardy's son, his sister, and his best friend. "This is Chase, Tempest, and Phil. And we're in trouble."

Phil added, "Ain't no doubt."

Anna nodded. Maybe this won't be so bad after all, she thought, as she began to sing slowly along with the blues rift.

"See, me and my boyfriend Mike, tonight's our anniversary.

But then he went and canceled and now I'm stuck watching these three.

And it's so hard."

Albert chimed in. "And it's so hard."

Anna: Babysitting these guys.

Tempest gestured for Chase to adjust the other microphone so she could join in.

Albert: She's got the…

Anna continued:

I got this call from AJ, we went to pick her up.

But the tire had a blowout, and my grandma's car got shot up.

Tempest: And these guys started to chase us…

Chase: And we all got hijacked.

Phil: We're cruising down the highway…

Anna: In this big old Cadillac…(at this point, the audience shouted in excitement) And it's so hard…

Albert: It's so hard…

Anna: Babysitting these guys…

Albert: She's got the…Babysitting Blues.

Others: Baby, baby…babysitting blues.

Anna: I've got the…Babysitting Blues.

Albert: There are nights, you'd swear you were born to lose…like tonight. And you wish your feet were walking in someone else's shoes.

Anna: Some guys are out to get us. (As Stevie and his associates wove through the crowd to wait for their chance to pounce)

Phil: And AJ's probably dead.

Chase: We ain't got five dollars…

Albert: And they should be in bed, and you outta luck.

Anna: I just love watching these guys. I've got the Babysitting Blues.

Others: Baby, baby.

Anna: Babysitting Blues.

Others: Baby, baby.

Anna: Babysitting Blues.

Albert: There are nights…

Anna: You'd swear you born to lose…

Albert: Like tonight.

Albert/ Anna: And you wish your feet were walking in someone else's shoes.

Albert: Some guys are out to get 'em, and the girls probably dead. They ain't got a nickel…

Chase/Phil/Tempest: And we should be in bed!

Albert: And you outta luck!

Anna: I just love watching these guys. I've got the…Babysitting Blues. (R-Truth met Anna's gaze and he gave her a wink and a friendly nod)

All: Baby, baby.

Anna: Babysitting Blues.

All: Baby, baby.

Anna: Babysitting Blues.

The band continued playing as Albert led the kids off stage and towards the exit. On the way out they give several members of the audience high fives as they passed. The audience loved them! The kids escaped out the door just as Albert finished his last rift and stood in front of Stevie and Dreamer.

"Sorry. Nobody leaves this place without singing the blues," he warned, as the thugs looked out over the now silent crowd. R-Truth wanted to bust up laughing at Dreamer and Stevie's clueless expression, but he kept a poker face as best as he could.

~~~BABY~~~

"You were incredible, Anna!" Phil exclaimed, as he and the other kids ran outside. "Amazing!"

Tempest had an ear-to-ear grin. "I didn't know you were so cool!"

Chase smirked. "I did."

Anna smiled at her charges as they all skipped across the street. "Oh, you guys are pretty cool yourselves. Come on, we gotta get outta here."

Phil cocked an eyebrow. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know, but anywhere but here."

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: It seems to me that the kids may have forgotten AJ. Don't worry, we'll get back to her soon. Please keep in mind that this is my version of Adventures in Babysitting. I'm retelling it with my characters, and with WWE personalities.

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